private feelings
by CelestialBirb
Summary: A series of one shots revolving around Ciel and my MC Elika, takes place at different points during and after the events of God Eater 2. Rated T just incase.
1. chapter 1

**As you can tell this fic is pretty much Yuri, so that's not your cup of tea you don't have to read it. Or flame me.**

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Elika was never the sort of person that bothered too much with having the day completely charted out with a list of all the activities that needed doing. Being naturally gifted with a great memory and always having her chores done ahead of any schedules that may have been set up. A childhood being filled with rigorous studying and countless mock exams made sure of that. In truth, even after being appointed to the role of vice-captain her duties were relatively underwhelming, at least compared to the sort of work she usually performed back in Korea. Even now on the return chopper to HQ after a mission she was still no less focused on the duties she needed to perform over the week despite her mild fatigue.  
To her right was captain Julius, arms crossed and busy issuing out orders to the pilot as the Far east came into view. To her right was Ciel who was quietly reading through a book titled ' _Blood and Fenrir, PR'._ Ordinarily she never pegged the Silvette for one that cared much for politics over improving the quality of their field performance but the news seemed to pertain to God Eaters, namely blood which wasn't a common occurrence, so she could understand Ciel's curiosity. Opposite the three were the other half of the team, namely, Romeo, Nana and Gilbert. The two formers were engaging in some casual chit chat while Gilbert seemed to be buried in his thoughts in much of the same way Elika was.

A minute later she was pulled out of her reverie by the roar of the blood chopper's engine as they touched down on the Helipad and Julius pulled open the door for the rest of the Blood squad to step out and make their way along the friar Balcony towards the entrance.

"Ahh, I can't wait to get a bite of that Oden sandwich. Who wants to join me?" Nana said happily as she swung her God arc around in her usual boisterous manner. In response Romeo eagerly chimed in.

"Sure, Matsumi's cooking is always good so count me in" the blonde said in response.

Grabbing her long blade, Elika stepped onto the ground alongside the rest of the squad, the midday sun warming up body while cool wind gently tickled her sleeveless arms. Add the faint smell off concrete and the base gave off an oddly homely atmosphere, despite being what was essentially a Fort.  
Ciel shook her head while offering an apologetic look, while Julius, Elika and Gilbert kept their eyes ahead. Gilbert also shook his head stating that he had a private matter to attend to. Glancing over the other two Nana gave them a hopful look but was soon crushed by a dismissing wave from Julius and an apologetic smile from Elika.

"I'm sorry Nana, but I have some experimenting to do with the blood bullets with Licca" Ciel said.

"And Julius and I have to handle the debriefing" Elika said

"Well then I guess it's just me and Romeo then" Nana said with a smile as they headed inside and went their separate ways. The two team leaders made a beeline for Dr Rachel's office and gave a quick debriefing. At this point Elika had been the second in command for over a month so the work was far more mechanical at this point.

Next up was the paperwork which was equally divided between herself and Julius. After about an hour or so of signing the young man stood up from his seat and excused himself for a bathroom break. With a smile and nod Elika resumed her work for another twenty minutes when she heard her cell phone vibrate. Reaching into her pockets she answered and put the electronic device to her ear while still signing with her other hand.

"Hello" she said into the phone. What followed was the sound of muffled whispering in the background before the familiar voice spoke through.

"Hey Elie, its Kota here. I'm sure you must be busy but Julius needs you" he said in a slightly distressed tone that sent sirens through her ears.

"Julius, he did seem to be taking a while to get here. Did something happen?" she asked in concern

"Yeah. He slipped on his way back up and had a concussion… It's pretty bad" the young captain said in grim tone that only served to heighten her distress. There was also some faint muttering in the background but red head was quick to disregard it as thoughts of Julius going through

"What. I'll be right there. Where are you?" she asked dropping her pen and standing up.

"Were at the lounge right now, get here fast" he said with a lot of urgency

Wasting no time in rushing out the door and taking the elevator down to the lobby. Walking at a brisk pace she couldn't help but wonder how an accident like that would even happen considering clumsiness was the furthest word one could use to describe Julius. His footwork was never off even when they fought on slippery terrain, his body would always contort to stop that from happening. Which was quite frankly, more than she could say for herself.  
Furthermore, there was something off about this that was scratching the back of her head. Namely, if Julius was hurt then why not take him straight to the infirmary which was just a floor above. The lounge was completely out of the way and what was all the static muttering she kept hearing in the background of those phone calls. Though Kota certainly wasn't as professional as his rank would lead most to believe she couldn't help but sense a hint of mischievous intent in his tone.

Soon enough she was pulled from her thoughts as she stepped into the Den and immediately noticed that room was lacking the usual presence of other God Eaters land staff like Damian, Licca or Emil. Even Hibari seemed to be absent. At this point every siren in her body was ringing as she stood at the lounge entrance and noting the unsettling lack of sound coming from the other side and pushed the electronic door open

The first thing she noted was the absence of any light which made the room almost completely dark. Letting a surprised sound her hands blindly reached out for the light switch when suddenly all the light came back to the room followed by the chorus of a dozen or so voices all shouting "SURPRISE" in unison, startling her instantly.

"Huh" she said dumbfounded as everyone gathered around her while cheering happy birthday to her. It took her a full three seconds before it dawned on her what was happening and covered her mouth with her hand in a mixture of pleasant surprise and embarrassment as numerous arms from all her teammates and friends patted her back.

"Happy birthday Ellie" Nana said as she embraced the redhead from the side while happily giggling. Elika in spite of light pink blush on her face managed to laugh lightly and hug back.

"You guys shouldn't have." she said with a sheepish smile as she regarded everyone. To the back she could see Julius, Kota, Soma and Alisa all giving her smiles, heck even the cradle unit leader Yu was there, a young man that though she didn't know well she was still pleased he was here anyway.

"Are you kidding me. You've done us solids more times than we can count. I wouldn't miss this for anything" Licca said accompanied by various cheers of agreement as Nana pushed her over to the armrest where everyone could see her.

"But how did you guys even know today was my birthday?" she asked in bewilderment as she had never even stated her age let alone her birthday to anyone.

"Well Ciel told us" Kota replied grinning from ear to ear. At that her gaze went over to her silver haired teammate who seemed to shrink back slightly from Elika's gaze.

 **-Perspective shift-**

The instant Elika's gaze shifted to her Ciel couldn't help but shrink slightly as she wasn't expecting to have much attention drawn to her though she was pretty sure everyone else was staring at her now as well.

"I just happened to stumble on it back when I was checking everyone's profile on the terminal" she said breaking eye contact. In truth, she'd only just told the rest of blood but Romeo passed on the information to Kota who pretty much told everyone. Next thing she knew they were setting preparations for a big surprise party for her. With Yuno playing a new piece as entertainment.

"So, if you don't mind me asking. How old are you know Ell?" Soma asked from his spot by the counter, his expression calm and relaxed as he leaned back against it.

"hey now, its rude to ask a lady her age" Haruomi said teasingly to which Soma simply rolled his eyes. Elika let out a soft chuckle at the display and answered.

"20" she replied.

"Woah, I thought you were just a year older than me" Nana said in surprise, not realising her vice-captain was already an adult. What came after that was everyone making room as Matsumi walked in with a huge cake with happy Birthday written on it next to her initials. The young girl giving Elika a hug before they proceeded to cut the cake into pieces and shared it among them. After that Satsuki had them all gather round Elika for photos. First a team shot with Blood which Ciel loved mainly due to the opportunity it provided for her to sit next to her. Then a group shot with everyone else. Then a bunch of random photos with everyone else. Once all the cake had been shared and Yuno performed her piano solo the drinks were pulled out and people proceeded with mingling.

Presents weren't mandatory but more than few them had something for the vice-captain Ciel included, but with a little something extra she new she'd love. And with the attention finally shifted away from Elika it seemed like a great opportunity for her to give her present.

She was currently sitting by the window next to Alisa, Yu and Soma. The two formers seemed to be chatting about something though it sounded more like Alisa was berating Yu about a certain reckless stunt he did while Soma held a half empty glass in his hand.

Yu for his part tried to defend himself but wasn't really making any progress other than further infuriating the Russian girl. But at the same time it sounded less like arguing and more like they were low key flirting with the way sits he blushed when he brought up some of her own stunts.

Tuning their chatter out she glanced down at the small DVD pack in her hand. Its disk containing a list of songs that she hoped the red head would like. She'd noted that she seemed to be fan of pop rock and Jazz so Ciel put a healthy mix of both inside as well as a few of her own personal favourites.

Gathering up her courage she took a deep breath and stood up, making a beeline for the bar where the rest of blood was stationed, pushing through the crowd and trying to get closer. The smell of alcohol was almost suffocating near the centre, in truth Ciel didn't drink, finding the taste to be rather repulsive to her tongue so it was anything but pleasant. Once she finally pushed through and had her leaders in sight her throat went dry at the site Elika and Julius embracing each other which warranted low whistles from around.

The slight smirk on Julius's face and Elikas arms wrapped around him so tight made her feel bad for reasons she couldn't comprehend, the subtle burn in her chest and the overwhelming desire to look away at how close their faces were when they pulled back. And so she did, until she was noticed by Elika who looked over at her after separating from Julius.

"Oh hey. Come on over" she said smiling as Ciel regained her composure and walked forward.

"I just wanted to… Um. Give this to you Vice-captain" she said holding out the disk to Elika whose eyes widened in surprise as she smiled and took it.

"Aw, Ciel. Your such a sweetheart, you didn't have to".

"It's the least I could do after all the help you gave me Elika" she said as she felt Elika pull her into a hug. It was hardly a feeling she was accustomed to but it was far from unwelcome as she took in the pleasant cent of her strawberry perfume and hair conditioner. Relishing every second of it and missing its absence when Elika eventually pulled away. That was when she saw another tape in her hand, Julius's gift to be exact. Though she could feel the temptation to ask what he got her she refrained and tried to brush off the image of them embracing out of her mind. Why did something like that even bother her so much?  
After all the two of them were constantly working together even shared a lot of the same hobbies, she and the captain were perfectly compatible for each other. Besides she was pretty sure Ellie was straight and wasn't interested in the other girls. Why was she even curious about her orientation?

The rest of the day passed by and party eventually ended with a last group shot being taken before separating to spend the rest of their evening handling other responsibilities. Nightfall came and Everyone had already headed back to their quarters but Ciel still wasn't quite done and still had one last thing to take care of with Elika. Taking a wrapped wine bottle from her room she walked across the hallway of the blood section and knocked on her vice captain's door. At least now that all the excitement from the party was behind them she could manage to squeeze in some alone time with her as they usually did when there wasn't much work to be done. But seeing as today was a special one for Ciel she handled all her paperwork and handed in her latest strategy report in to Licca to add a few adjustments to her God arc.

A moment passed before a beeping could be heard from the other side as door slid open for her with Elika standing on the other side, having changed out of her blood uniform and was now dressed in her nightwear, namely a white sleeveless vest with a V-neck and some shorts that only fell to her thighs.

"Hey Ciel, make yourself at home" she said stepping aside for the younger girl to step in with the door sliding shut behind her. This was far from an uncommon situation between the two of them as they tended to spend their nights in each other's company, either working on new strategies that would give them the edge in future battles or just messing around as friends. On some of there earlier nights she could recall how much she tended to blush when she saw Ellie in her nightwear and constantly averting her gaze despite the others insistence that it was alright since they were both girls to begin with but at the same time it was no secret that Elika got a few good kicks out of seeing her get flustered, though it was all in good spirit. In many ways though their relationship was could be likened more to that of sisters than close friends, enough that she was now well adjusted to her thin layers of clothes that didn't leave much to the imagination.

Taking a seat in by the couch in her room she dropped the bottle container on the table as Elika plopped down next to her, an amused smirk forming on her lips.

"So much Alcohol, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to seduce me, Ciel" she said as took the bottle and examined the brand, her smile only widening as she realised where it was from.

"Of course not. I simply just wanted to give you a nice gift" Ciel replied having grown used to her occasional teasing. A small smile forming on her lips as she felt her shoulders relax. Elika had this natural skill for putting others at ease, a person she always felt she could be herself around without always being formal.

"Ha of course you wouldn't. But on another note, you guys really went all out for just me… I hadn't realised I was so popular" she said with a sheepish look as she scratched her head. At hearing that she felt an instant urge to rebuke her on not realising just how much of a positive impact she left on everyone but instead simply sighing in mild exasperation. For one so capable she could be shockingly dense sometimes, but of course that was part of Elika's charm. Modest to a fault.

"No no, you shouldn't be thanking me. It was all captain Fujiki and Miss Yuno's doing. Without them it wouldn't have been nearly as grand" she said griping the fabric of her green skirt and looking away.

"Perhaps, but it wouldn't have happened without you…" there was a brief pause in which Elika seemed to take a deep breath before continuing. "… Truth is, I haven't had good birthday since I was ten. I've never felt so wanted and liked, ever. It was like I was a kid again" she said causing Ciel to glance up and see a genuine smile on Elika's face.

"I see. Do you want to talk about it?" she asked in concern to which the redhead shook her head.

"Maybe another time, now's just not the best time. Not with a fantastic drink in front of me" she said tearing the foil off and unscrewing the bottle. She then grabbed a pair of glassed from the cupboard, handing Ciel one and pouring the red wine into both their glasses.

"How on earth did you get your hands on this brand? I searched all over the place for it after the Korean brewery got destroyed by the Aragami" she said looking over at her in pleasant bewilderment. Her green inquisitive orbs digging into her soul for answers.

"It was for sale at a town auction. It wasn't very popular so I managed to get it cheap" she explained though she lied about it being cheap since she had to part with three thousand yen for it, a pretty penny for her meagre wallet but well worth it for the ecstatic look in her eyes.

"I hadn't known there were any auctions being held in town. You'll have to show me around next time were in town" Elika said taking a sip of her glass and swallowing the full contents in one swig before wiping her mouth with a napkin. "That hit the spot" she said prompting Ciel to also take a sip though far more hesitantly due to her disinterest in all intoxicants. The taste was soft and cool at first having that familiar throat burning sensation other drinks had but in the span of six seconds throat burn intensified causing her to stop drinking and run a hand through her sore throat. It was so intense it almost felt like fire in her throat, then just quickly as it came the burn and replaced with a sweet after taste that left her bewildered.

"It's quite intense to say the least" Ciel managed as she crossed her legs to which Elika nodded.

"Yup, I don't know much about alcohol brewing but the creator somehow managed to fit a variety of flavours into the mix that would provide drinkers was a sort of 'taste high' all without overwhelming the senses. But I understand if you don't want anymore. It can be a little rough on first timers but it grows on you" she explained refilling her glass and taking another more controlled sip, how exactly she could drink that without so much wincing from the burn was beyond Ciel, but bot being one to give up easily she also refilled her glass and took another cautious sip. Hoping to ease her taste buds into it before finishing the contents of her glass.

Elika gave her nod of approval as she again finished her glass and switched on her little flat screen Tv, flicking through the channels idly. Glancing to the side Ciel could see the huge pile of paperwork had been tended to and neatly set aside on her shelf. How she could burn through all that in the span of an hour was feet to behold but at the same time it was so typical of the vice-captain.

"Nothing catching your interest?" Ciel asked seeing Elika scroll through all twenty channels until they eventually looped back around.

"Pretty much, but that's only when I haven't a far more interesting specimen next to me" she said switching it off and drinking once again. Feeling her cheeks heat up again she retreated to her glass to avoid risking a flustered reply, but at the same time she could feel her head was getting lighter.

'Is this how it feels to be drunk?' she pondered to herself as downed yet another glass. She already felt so light already yet the bottle still had more to offer.

"I must not be very good at holding my liquor, the bottles only just half empty now".

"Nu uh, its half full" Ellie said drinking again.

"Right, sorry. Half full" Ciel corrected herself only half amused while the other was just her knee-jerk urge to apologise. Smiling Elika suddenly stood up and walked over to the stereo and pulling out the music CD, or at least that was what it looked like, the room was a bit spiny for her right now. But she snapped back into reality when she heard the soft jazz coming from the speakers as Elika turned the volume up just a bit. And the vocalists booming voice on the other side. It was the CD she gave her earlier.

"Frank Sinatra, 'fly me to the moon'. I love this one" the redhead said cheerily as she did a little twirl, glass still in hand. Ciel couldn't help but smile at the sight of Ellie enjoying the songs, her hunches were on point after all.

As the song began to rise intensity so too did Ellies body sway just a bit following the rhythm, glass now empty yet again. Ellie was always an outgoing woman, but she was never quite this loose which lead Ciel to believe that she must have been pretty drunk. She continued watching Elika throw her hands and spin to the piano, giggling in amusement at her antics. Or at least she was, until she felt Ellie grab her hand and pull her close.

"huh? No, I can't dance Elika" she said in protest as the colour left her, but her pleas fell on deaf ears as Elika intertwined their fingers and swayed her along.

"There's a first time for everything Ciel. Now shake those hips for big sis" she said with a wicked grin causing the colour in Ciel's face to fade even faster, her gaze averted as Elika pulled her along. Thankfully Elika kept them moving at a slow pace, mostly just swaying from side to side at a comfortable pace. Occasionally Ellie would raise her hand and spin her around. Ciel couldn't help but feel like a rag doll being moved around, constantly sputtering apologies when she stubbed the older girl's toes. But in spite of all the initial awkwardness she gradually started to enjoy it, the closeness they were sharing was nice and quite fun with just the two of them. It just felt so natural, their arms locked together and the sweet scent of her hair.

She could almost forgive the embrace with Julius earlier. As the minutes passed by she found herself resting her head against Elika's shoulder, taking in her natural scent which pleasantly reminded her of the smell of peaches.

"It's getting pretty late now, I think we should get some shut eye soon" Elika said after a long pause of them just standing with slow sways to the side, motioning to the clock which marked 1:00am. But Ciel, in her trance like state didn't really hear it. The alcohol wasn't helping much either. Instead pulling back and staring into Elika green orbs, at her full height she was only just up to her nose. Ellie smiled back at her.

"Something on my face? Your staring daggers at me" she asked smiling. Practically every fibre of her being was asking her to turn away, yet they were so close she couldn't bring herself to do it. A second later Ciel pressed her lips against Elika's, letting her eyes flutter close and her body pressing up against Ellies as she deepened the kiss.

In response the redhead remained frozen in place as her eyes widened in shock, the action catching her off guard. Ciel could taste the alcohol on her lips raised her hands to gently cup and caress her cheeks. It wasn't until several seconds later that she felt Elika arms gently push her away that she realised what she'd just done and gasped pulling away.

"I'm sorry! It was an accident" she said trying to explain herself, but it was an exercise in futility as Elika felt her lips where the kiss still lingered for both of them. She could feel a mix of dread and fear building up. What if this threw a wrench in their relationship? What if Elika didn't want to speak to her anymore now that she'd made things so awkward between them?

"Ciel…?" Elika said looking at her wide eyed. She didn't know what to say to explain herself, she COULDN'T explain herself so she did the only thing left to do. She ran out the door while muttering apologies. Hurrying into her room and locking the door, the burying her face in her pillow in shame, feeling fresh tears stream down her face at her stupidity.

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 **And that concludes the first chapter of this one-shot series. I couldn't help but notice that almost every fic involves mainly the God eater burst cast and stories centred around God Eater 2 are kinda rare, even less so with the female protagonist who's almost non-existent save for Soma related fics. And thus, this series was born.**

 **Most chapters will be self-contained but there'll be the occasional two-parter just like this one. Feel free to follow or like and if you feel so inclined leave a review telling me what you all think of it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait for an update, part of last week and the weekend in a no wifi zone and couldn't update until now. But enough excuses. Feel free to read and share your thoughts in a review if you feel so inclined.**

With one last pained growl the huge Vajra collapsed on its side, the ground shaking ever so slightly under the beast's mighty weight. The life leaving its eyes and the God Eaters standing victories over its corpse. The team primarily consisting of a mix of blood and cradle members, Elika and Ciel for blood and Alisa and Lindow from cradle.

Light drizzles sliding off their heads and soaking the streets of the abandoned city, making the ground slippery and making it harder to fight. But through some solid coordination between the four of them they managed to complete the mission with relative ease.

Wiping the dirt off her brow Alisa radioed in for the pickup chopper. Once on board they took their seat and lifted off. Ciel taking her seat next to Alisa while Elika was with Lindow. Much like a lot of god eaters from the far east branch, the dark-haired god eater wasn't one to be formal as was the trend most of them tended to show. At times Elika couldn't help but wonder if Blood took themselves far too seriously, assuming most god eaters honestly didn't care about looking professional.

"So those blood bullets are what allow you to deal so much damage? That's incredible Ciel" Alisa said, visibly impressed by the special effects Ciel's blood bullets had during the Vajra fight. Not just healing her injuries but giving them all a strength boost to keep up the pressure.

"Indeed, thanks to the bullet editor, the blood bullets are now way more powerful than they were when I first awakened my power" Ciel explained, going into detail on the mechanics and bullet combinations she had been experimenting with. At this point it wouldn't have surprised Elika if the girl had an encyclopaedic knowledge of every bullet type they had in storage, especially when you considered how much she tended to burry herself in books on them. It was one of the cute things about her that Elika loved to poke at. And had things between been normal she probably would have… But they just weren't.

A solid week had now passed since that faithful night Ciel had kissed her and a wall had formed between the two of them. For Elika's part it certainly wasn't by choice as she had attempted several times to confront her on the matter but no sooner would she step into the same room would the girl excuse herself to do something else, and with the endless onslaught of missions there was rarely ever a moment she could get Ciel alone to speak about it. But at this point it was quite apparent that her best friend was avoiding her. She wasn't even mad, they were drunk that night.

, sometimes things just happen. But what if there was something more to it? That would explain why Ciel was being so evasive.  
As the chopper landed back at the far east they dismounted and headed back inside, returning their God Arcs back to storage and giving in their report on the mission terminal.

"Well, I'll be heading to the lounge for some drinks. Any of you ladies wanna come along, it'll be my treat" Lindow offered as he lit his cigar, taking a few puffs.

"Thanks for the offer but I've got some urgent work I need to get back to. But I hope it's a pleasant break for you Lindow" Ciel said with a polite bow before walking off the other way. Elika had to hold in a sigh at Ciel's reply before turning Lindow down, she had other responsibilities and really wasn't in a drinking mood. But then she suddenly felt Alisa hook an arm over her elbow causing her to glance over at the white-haired girl who was giving her a worried look.

"Actually, we were hoping we could get a chance to speak to you particularly, Ellie" Lindow said with a cheerful wink as he motioned to the lounge. Elika in response gave a confused look but went along with it anyway. Letting herself get pushed along to the lounge and being seated between the two cradle members by the bar counter.

"Um, is something wrong guys?" she asked visibly confused. After a long day of fighting Aragami, having paperwork to do and mails to check she was just tired. Add the continued silent treatment Ciel was so adamant on giving her and the exhaustion was as much mental as it was physical.

"Well, yes. Were a little worried about you actually" Alisa said placing her glass filled with water on the counter and giving her a look akin to a doctor who needed to tell their patient she had some incurable illness.

"Me? I'm perfectly fine." she replied raising a puzzled brow at the statement. That warranted a light chuckle from Lindow who was halfway done with his can of beer.

"Sure, your fine physically. But were not just worried about you. Ciel too" the dark-haired man said as he finished the contents of his Can and tossed in the nearby trashcan. He then turned back to her his expression a bit sterner now.

"Now why would you be worried about Ciel and I?-" she replied, feigning amusement when Alisa abruptly cut her off.

"Oh, knock it off Ellie, maybe you haven't noticed but WE certainly have" the Russian snapped having lost her patience, a few heads turned in surprise but no one took any note and moved on with whatever they were doing before. Slightly taken aback by the outburst Elika replied.

"Noticed what?" she said keeping her tone calm. Rolling her eyes at her Alisa carried on.

"Well, for one thing you've both been sneaking glances at each other from the moment we stepped into that chopper. Or the fact that you guys don't really seem to talk anymore/ You usually work on those blood bullets together but she's been doing a lot of it on her own since the week started… To be frank she looks like a lost puppy just standing in the gun range on her own" Alisa went on.

From hearing that she couldn't help but let out a sigh as she turned to the counter, her eyes burned onto the contents of glass and frowning. No doubt the awkward tension alone between the two of them was enough to catch anyone off but she'd hoped that the others wouldn't notice or at the very least not point it out, though in hindsight that was wishful thinking.

Did you guys have a fight?" Lindow asked to which she responded by shaking her head.

"No, not at all… It was something else" she uncertainly considering whether they needed to know about it. She knew they could be trusted but at the same time didn't want them complicating matters. Risking a glance at Alisa she could instantly feel her composure melting from the scrutinizing stare that was just as worried and exasperated as it was probing. Add in the fact that Elika hated lying, even less so with someone showing her genuine concern and she was boxed in.

Trying to compose herself she raised the glass of sparkling water to her lips and finished it off. With her eyes still staring into the empty glass she took a moment to articulate herself before speaking

"Well, after the party you guys through for me last week. Well she… Ciel came to my room and we had a little after party…" she trailed off as the memories of that night came back to her. Her pleasant surprise at Ciel's gift and savouring the special drink they shared.

"Go on" Lindow coursed. His demeanour relaxed as always but listening attentively.

"She brought some alcohol and we both got drunk. We messed around a bit with the music player, it was a fun time"

"Well that doesn't sound bad at all. So what happened after?" Alisa asked, making a conscious effort not sound pushy.

"Well, we were both pretty drunk. One thing lead to another and well… One second were having a laugh over some antics and in the next she kissed me". Elika practically whispered the last part as a light blush spread across her cheeks, another memory she wasn't sure how she felt about.

She could see Alisa's eyes widen in surprise while Lindow had an amused smirk at the news for reasons she wasn't sure she wanted to know. After a moment of silence Alisa rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"Well, in hindsight that probably does make some sense when I think about it" the Russian girl said looking as though she just made a realisation. What was she on about?

"We were both drunk. Neither of us were in the best state of mind. So I wouldn't read much into it" she added, knowing where Alisa's thoughts were heading to which the Russian girl nodded but smiling nonetheless, looking to her right she could see Lindow snickering.

"That's a possibility but somehow I doubt it" Alisa said as she pushed a strand out of her face. This prompted Elika to glance at her wearily.

"They say a drunk person's actions are a sober one's inner thoughts" Lindow said as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, much to her exasperation. Ciel didn't feel that way about her, they were just teammates and close friends after all. But Ciel was still avoiding her like a plague and the more she thought about it the more she started to doubt that it was just an accident.

"So your saying-" she started when she was cut off by a familiar voice.

"You made a by-the-book introverted shy girl who barely socialised with anyone prior to blood go full Lesbian for you, pretty much" Lindow said bluntly causing her to blush further and Alisa to wince

"I would have preferred to phrase it a bit more tactfully but I agree. Ever since you guys started working together on those blood bullets Nana says she's been a lot more outgoing than usual. But after that she got gloomy. Sure, she may not be letting it affect her combat performance but I think she probably misses spending time with you" Alisa said genuinely, placing a hand over Ellie's to prompt the red head to look at her.  
There was a brief pause before Elika pulled her hand away and replied.

"But, even if all your saying is true and Ciel does have genuine feelings for me. If she misses me like you say then why avoid me? It couldn't all just be because she's embarrased" she asked.

"… Well perhaps she doesn't want to complicate matters between you and Julius. Realising your attracted to someone can already be hard enough. But when that someone's of the same gender it brings more than a few things into question" Lindow said causing Ellie to bury her face on the counter. She felt a surge of different emotions, but mostly confusion.

"What? Julius and I are not dating" she sputtered looking down right flabbergasted at the assumption. Alisa at least had the decency to not shoot her a doubtful look in stark contrast to Lindow's amused smile which was slowly getting on her nerves. But for the sake of not going off topic neither pressed the matter.

"Be that as it may. A lot of the others think you guys are dating. Point I'm making being that-"

"She's heard the rumours and is keeping her distance out of consideration" Elika finished with a frown. So that was her game? To not get between her and the captain. The redhead couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. While there was nothing between her and Julius either public or behind closed doors the two of them were certainly close friends, the only link that came to mind was that hug she gave him during the party. She was just so happy with the gift he got her that she got excited.

"Pretty much. Either way we'll have to get you two to talk" Lindow said prompting Ellie to look up at him in dread.

"Somehow that doesn't fill me up with hope".

"Don't worry, I'll make sure were discreet about it" Alisa said with a reassuring smile. It was nice to know that the others cared enough to help her but at the same time she still wasn't sure of what to even say to Ceil. Before she could ponder this any further her cell phone beeped indicating a message which she promptly read.

It was a message from Julius reminding her of their planned lunch meeting. Placing it back in her pocket she stood up and straightened out her uniform.

"I appreciate the help guys, really. But this is a personal matter between myself Ciel, besides one way or another she'll have to start talking to me sometime" she said with a polite smile and bow. It only felt appropriate she handle this matter privately.

"Oh… Well thanks for listening then Ell~" Lindow said though she could tell there was still more they had to say on the matter. Lindow was already the more detached of the two so she didn't expect him to push it too far, Alisa was predictably still unsatisfied and it showed despite her smile.

"Yes, were here for you if you need us" she said with a nod to Elika before she stepped out of the lounge.

* * *

"Based on the date I've analysed and collected from our battles of the course of this month as well as the migration patterns of the various Aragami in the surrounding area it is my belief that these new upgrade blue prints should provide us with an edge" Ciel said holding her pen up to the screen containing the blueprints she'd laid out for the other two to see.

It had taken weeks of tireless revision and sleepless nights but her latest report was finished. Not that it was at all unusual for her to do so with her primary responsibility being tactical assistance. But Ciel had never quite went this deep into the logistical factors they needed to meet, especially since that was more of an engineer like Licca's field. But big improvements beget big changes, and of course it also gave her a good excuse to not be available.

Before her stood Julius and Elika who both held tablets containing the date reports she had compiled prior to the meeting containing a more in-depth study on the task.

"Interesting paper, with these upgrades our God arcs should be even more versatile in a combat situation. However, the materials you've listed aren't stocked. In fact, I don't think its even something we could find easily" Julius said, his face a mask of calm professionality as always but a hint of appeasement from her progress was visible, it was subtle but she'd learned to notice it over time.

"Titanite and Bismuth minerals. The former we can barter for but the latter isn't something I think even still exists" the vice-captain said her tone also strictly formal but her eyes lacked any of the usual warmth she was accustomed to seeing, un expressive to point that made Julius seem excitable by comparison and that was saying something.

"While thats true, even in the 2010's Bismuth was already a rare mineral and its global stock has only gradually declined due to rising demand, but I believe I've found a new Aragami type that may have just that" she replied keeping things formal. This reply roused their interest as they both perked up.

"Really? The terminal never listed any new types. I'm curious to hear more" Julius said while Ellie gave a nod of agreement. Before turning back to Ciel expectantly. Their eyes met and Ciel didn't let them linger, not trusting her composure to maintain itself under Elika's piercing gaze following her little stunt two weeks ago. Instead averting them between the board and Julius.

"We still don't yet have a reliable report of its size or destructive capabilities. But there have been multiple sightings of an armoured Aragami that literally has Bismuth spikes protruding from its back" Ciel said tapping a button on her pad and pulling up an image on the screen, unfortunately it was out of focus and blurry but it had the unmistakable image of a large four legged Aragami with a thick hide that truthfully did look very much like Bismuth.  
"I apologise for the poor image quality but that's the best I could get from a local satellite base" she apologised.

Rubbing her chin thoughtfully Elika observed the image trying to discern more of the Aragami than just an imposing size but it was an exercise in futility as the image was too poor to see through. It seemed almost too good to be true, though it was natural for Aragami to take on traits of whatever they consumed it was usually an amalgamation of various other things and not predominately a single mineral... She glanced at Julius and could tell he had also come to the same conclusion.

"Very well then, Blood will refocus its efforts on seeking out this new-type. I'll leave the strategy formation to the two of you, unfortunately I'll need to make a quick trip back to Friar to answer Director Grem's summon "Julius said, placing an arm on his hip and placing the tablet down.

"Yes of course, you can count on us Julius" Elika said breaking the formal atmosphere by cracking a smile and saluting. Ciel did the same to which Julius gave a nod before dismissing them. Grabbing her documents Ciel made her way towards the exit wanting to back to her studies but before she could leave she felt a hand on her shoulder, though she already knew it was Ellie.

"Oh, did you need something vice-captain?" she asked. She could see Ellie frown and felt a sting in her gut, yet maintained her composure. It wasn't until they were both sure Julius was out of ear shot that Ellie replied in a controlled voice

"Well… I was hoping we could just talk. It's been a while since we revised our strategy reports, I was hoping we could do it past dinner tonight, either of our rooms is fine" Elika said. It was easy avoiding het these past two weeks thanks to the spike in Aragami activity which gave them all less free time. The fear of being confronted about her actions driving her to keep her distance, yet she missed just hanging out with her first and closest friend. She just wanted things to go back to normal again, undo her actions all while wanting more than just a platonic friendship.

"I see, I already agreed to go on a mission with Captain Kota and Erina. I'll need to reschedule the meeting" she said looking towards her watch when she felt the hand on her shoulder squeeze ever so slightly, it didn't hurt but she could sense her words weren't what she wanted to hear. Elika's head lowered, her expression hidden under her crimson bangs yet a dark aura could still be sensed causing Ciel to break her gaze.

"… Just why do you keep on avoiding me?" she heard Elie ask, a low whisper but she heard nonetheless. The question pierced her like a bullet, her composure just holding itself together. She new she couldn't avoid her forever but wanted to stave it off a bit longer

"Avoiding you? It's just been a busy we-week. I'm sorry" she said.

"Don't give me that crap, that would never stop you even at the worst of times. You constantly act like I'm not even in the damn room" she said her face coming back into view. Her eyes a mixture of frustration and hurt. And knowing she was the cause, at that moment she wanted to just disappear.

"I-I-" she tried to sputter a reply but couldn't find the words, how could she possible lie to Ellie? The woman who risked everything just to save her life, who always treated her with such kindness despite not needing to.

"Is it something I did? Something I said? Or was it the damn kiss?" she asked her voice rising. Lowering her head in shame Ciel, her back was against the wall and she knew Elika wasn't about to let her run, nor did it feel right to. After all that was all she had been doing since the week started.

That was when she felt something wet land on her wrist prompting her to look up and see a single tear had escaped Elika's face. Was she so torn by her voluntarily choosing to avoid her? It was the last nail in the coffin. She could feel her composure breaking from the intense guilt she was carrying. She just couldn't hold it in anymore.

"I'm sorry… I really am. I know it wasn't just unprofessional but immature of me to shun you… But I-I just couldn't face you" Ciel said as the emotions poured through, also feeling moisture rise to her eyes.

"But why? Ciel I know we were both drunk that night. I wouldn't be mad at you over something like that" Elika said rubbing the tear away, more annoyed at it than emotional, all while keeping her eyes on Ciel, she wasn't sure if she had ever felt this much regret or self-loathing. She shook slightly as she processed the words, wanting to just get everything off her chest despite her fears. But knowing she'd made Ellie, the last person she ever wanted to shed a tear over her actions made her feelings irrelevant to her.

She was so caught up with her own anxiety that she didn't consider how her actions would have confused and frustrated the other girl.

"No… It's not that" she said now shaking her head and looking down in abashment.

"Then what the hell is it?" Elika asked impatiently.

"I kissed you because I like you" she replied. Her words caught Elika in surprise and her eyes widened in surprise as she stared back at Ciel whose face was a bright red. Several painfully silent seconds passed between the two by the time the vice-captain responded

"…You 'like' me. You mean romantically?" she asked, wanting to make sure she didn't misinterpret the context. Ciel could only manage a meek nod as she held her documents to her chest.  
"How long exactly have you felt this way? If you don't mind me asking" Elika pressed on.

"… Well, that would probably be the first time you suggested we make use of blood bullets as targets so we could edit them… At the time I hadn't realised what I felt was actual intimate desires but after spending more time with you I came to this conclusion" she replied earnestly. If she was going to confess her feelings anyway she would go all the way.  
"'You risked your career to save my life, gave me your unconditional friendship. I honestly couldn't be more grateful to you…" she took a deep breath before continuing. "I know you don't see me as anything more than just a friend, I'm sorry I had to dump my own emotional baggage on you. I only hope you'd be willing to forgive me for it" she said sincerely as she lowered her head in a bow to emphasise her apology.

It was literally taking everything she had to hold back the tears she could feel threatening to cascade down her cheeks in torrents. But she refused to make this any harder than it needed to be. She heard no response as she rose back from her bow, but wouldn't risk a glance at Elika. She was about ready to excuse herself, not wanting to hear the inevitable rejection and was shocked when she felt Elika snake both arms around her back and pull the silvette into a tight hug.

"I'm the one who should be apologising..." she heard the older girl whisper just above her ear. The position was immediately familiar, yet not one she felt was deserved.

"What do you mean Ellie?" she asked.

"I saw the tell-tale signs that you might have had feelings for me long ago… Yet I constantly teased you about it... I'm horrible" she said. Even though she couldn't see her face from this position she could sense a bitter smile on Elika's lips, not a sight that fitted such a cheerful person.

"No. They were all in good nature. Yes, the teasing was a factor, but having a friend that like you made me feel special" she replied frowning. Ciel was always one who found it hard to respond to teasing, having practically no social skills. She'd long new that Elika was aware of this, but that still didn't stop the occasional out of context innuendo and compliment to her figure. On one hand it made her a sputtering mess and on the other she couldn't help but feel happy how Elie could say the most lewd jokes and still not get under her skin, on the contrary she felt a rush.

"Even so I wasn't helping matters. I'd hate to let this ruin our relationship" she said tightening the hug slightly and burying her face against Ciels shoulder. The words made the butterflies flutter in her tummy and she dropped the documents haphazardly to hug back, tears falling despite her efforts to withhold them.

"I… You still wish to retain our present relationship. In spite of my confession? It doesn't make you uncomfortable?" she asked, bewildered but also overjoyed. A major factor of her fear always was Elika's sexuality and what the odds were that shed' like another girl. She must have sensed the doubt in her as Ciel felt Elie pull back and wipe the tears away while still holding her at arms-length. She was smiling

"At the very least, yes. As for your feelings, well I consider myself Pan so gender was never a factor. Though your definitely cute enough to wrap any guy or girl around your fingers" Elika said causing her to blush to deepen further. In response, she let out an amused chuckle before turning serious.  
"Honestly, I don't know how I feel about you. I do love you like a sister, but I guess I never pictured this when we first met"

"Neither did I, but whatever you choose I'll accept" she replied. Staring back expectantly as she Elika thought it over.

"Well then… If you're really alright with an excitable Tomboy then I'm willing to explore this…Together" she said with slight smile on her lips. It took a moment for her mind to register her reply, asking herself if she'd heard right. Did the Vice-captain just reciprocate her feelings?

"Y-You really mean it…?" she asked to which Elika nodded. Noting that she hadn't blatantly said she also liked her.

"Yes… I mean it might just lead to something else. You want an answer, something I'm not entirely sure of. So dating would be the best way to help us both understand each other a bit more" she explained. Her words did ring true, though she still felt a bit disappointed for the lack of an actual clear answer this would also be an opportunity to sort out her feelings for Elika.

"…. I can accept that-" she said when they were interrupted by a beeping from her cell. It was a reminder of her meeting with captain Kota and yelped slightly when she realised she was running late. Understanding the situation Elika swiftly released her and picked up the documents Ciel dropped, handing it back and planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

Suddenly feeling embarrassment wash over her Ciel only managed a small smile.

"I have a few more missions today, we can meet up later tonight if you're not too exhausted" she said with a warm smile in return.

"Don't worry, I'll meet up with you after Ellie" she said trying to not let her excitement show too me. But could feel her stomach performing backflips. She and Ellie were now technically in a relationship yet she struggled to swallow that pill. Just mere moments ago it felt impossible, yet that was the case.

Nodding they both headed out the briefing room, down hall and into the elevator, Ciel opting to stand close and Elika intertwined their hands while they were alone in the elevator. It felt nice and she hated when they eventually broke away from each other as Elika needed to head back to her room. Giving a playful wink before waving her goodbye on the elevator. Ciel could only just smile through her blushing, her smile lingering even after the elevator closed.

* * *

 **Sorry if any of the characters felt a bit too OOC, In Ciel's case she only acts that way around Elika but stays professional with others. Personally, I wasn't too satisfied with this chapter's quality but now that the two-parters out of the way expect many of the preceding chapters to just be their own little self-contained stories involving this ship.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Your pretty good at this" Elika said as she raised her Knight up to capture an opposing pawn. Her eyes scanning through the chess board for any potential moves Ciel could have made. She'd already lost all her pawns and was just managing to hold her ground. When she suggested a game of chess she wasn't expecting things to get so tense, but considering this was right up Ciel's alley she should have known better.

"I try my best. You're a much better strategist than I am Ellie" the silver haired girl replied with a small smile, capturing one of Elika's Towers, much to the redhead's dismay. Ciel currently had the advantage and was on the offensive leading by just one point.

Funny how something as mundane as which movie to watch had turned into a heated chess match. Elika had a backlog of old movies from the 2000's she had purchased over the years but couldn't quite decide on what she wanted them to watch. So she asked Ciel who naturally said anything would be fine, another several minutes of scanning and she discovered her old chess board which they both immediately took a liking to, strategizing being a large part of their job on the field.

The minutes passed by like seconds as they continued playing, the lead position constantly swapping as they both lost more and more of their pieces to each other until with a final decisive blow Ciel moved her queen to call check mate, winning the game.

"Seems I managed to win this one" she said with a pleased smile as Elika's eyes widened in surprise before sinking back into her chair groaning dramatically.

"Aww, I thought my strategy was perfect" she said with feigned disappointment. Evidently Ciel could tell that she was just teasing and shook her head in response.

"I don't think there are any perfect strategies vice-captain" she replied placing both hands on her lap, her face an unreadable mask. Though she was always a good sport, as a strategist Elika could tell Ciel tended to be hard on herself when she lost a game, as a strategy was often a reflection of how she strategized on the field. If those approaches failed then she would need take that as a sign to revise them.

"True enough, you won. Good job Ciel" she said sitting back up and edging closer to Ciel along the arm-rest. Placing a hand on her shoulder she softly pressed her lips against Ciel's affectionately. The younger girl only requiring a second to kiss back, closing her eyes and only pushing her face forward to meet Ellies. After a minute or so Elika broke the chaste kiss and pulled back for air, her arm wrapping around Ciel's waist and causing an adorable blush to form on her girlfriend's cheeks.

About two weeks had passed since they decided to give dating a try though it felt longer than that. They're nightly meetings had resumed and things were finally back to normal between the two, probably better now considering their new relationship. Freely engaging in more intimate actions that would neither would have dared when they were just simple friends, though she'd teased it plenty of times in the past. However, Elika still chose to keep things relatively innocent between them and not to overwhelm the younger girl.

They'd had agreed to keep their relationship a secret until they were both comfortable coming out to the others about it. Though she was pretty sure none of the other members of Blood would object nor would it be their place to either. But at the same time they didn't want to make any big fuss about it, especially if they ended up ending things prematurely. To that end this side of their relationship primarily existed behind closed doors.

As she secured her arm around Ciel's waist so too did she respond by cuddling up against her, her head gently resting against Ellies shoulder and letting out a satisfied sigh as she got more comfortable. With all the nonstop Aragami attacks and paperwork they had even less time to just sit down and relax, Add the fact they still had to gather Bismuth for those God Arc upgrades and it was no surprise they were both so exhausted.

She didn't at all mind being turned into human body pillow, being in the comfort of her own bedroom she had already changed into her nightwear and had less protection from the cool air flowing out from the overhead ventilation shaft. She couldn't have had a better source of warmth than her adorable lover who was still clad in her regular outfit modestly, though she had been relieved of her corset, gloves and boots which were neatly placed by the drawers. About as far as Ciel could be comfortably pushed to undress.

A silence fell over them as they lay there. The low hum of the vents letting air into the room and soothing their ears. The subtle scent of the coconut air-freshener, enough to lull anyone to sleep. She was almost certain the silver haired girl had fallen asleep and was about ready to doze off herself when Ciel slowly raised herself to sit straight, slightly surprising Ellie.

"Something wrong?" she asked, her arm still wrapped around her waist. Ciel shook her head in response and looked away, seemingly flustered which only served to further pique her curiosity.

"Well… No, its nothing at all". Elika had to hold in a sigh at her weak attempt to brush it off.

"You've never been good at the poker face Ciel, what's the matter?" she asked also sitting up and glancing at Ciel curiously. Something was clearly on her mind. After a moment of contemplation, she sighed in defeat.

"…Well, you're not wrong. I'm sorry for acting weird" she conceded, yet not risking a glance at her. Outside a strictly formal atmosphere Ciel could be quite shy but out of habit she couldn't stop the reflexive apologies.

"You not weird. But I would like to know if there's anything bothering you" she said shaking her head at Ciel self-depreciation, she always hated when Ciel belittled herself.

"Well, alright… I was just wondering if you've ever dated anyone else" she said rather uncertainly, her hands fidgeting the hem of her skirt. The question caught her off guard, however it was far from unwelcome. In truth, it was quite flattering for Ciel to show an interest in her dating life.

Taking a moment, she looked back on her past relationships and placed a contemplative hand to her chin.

"Well, yes. I may have dated twice before we started seeing each other"

"May?". Elika's response was a smile and shrug.

"I'm not so sure if the second counts… Not that I mind but why the sudden interest in who I dated before you?" she asked causing Ciel to look back up at her, her eyes filled with uncertainty.

"Well um, no reason particular. I was just curious. I'm sorry, I'm being nosy aren't I?"

"Not at all." she said placing a thoughtful hand on her chin, knowing Ciel probably wanted more info than that but was too polite and shy to vocalise any further. She had no objections to giving the answers she sought.  
"My first was an old college classmate named Young Jin, I was about 15 then and he was about a month younger, still he was smart, responsible and a bit of a teachers pet-" as she spoke Ciels gaze was averted back to her, fully attentive and interested. "- We spoke a few times but we were never exactly close friends, I never really thought anything of him until one day he just walked up and said he liked me…"

"He sounds like quite the forward young man" Ciel said with a pensive look. This made her laugh lightly in response.

"Believe me he was, but it was also what I liked about him. He was always upfront about his feeling, not always for the best though. It was my first relationship ever so I was constantly getting embarrassed, Young on the other hand was always straight faced and cheerful. So he made things easier for us me" she said looking back on her memories with him.

"I see, so what happened between you two?"

"Well, nice of a guy as he was he was also teenage boy with raging hormone, and wanted a more physical relationship. Which I was willing to accommodate… to an extent" she said her tone going bitter. Judging by the frown on her lips Ciel understood what she meant

"Oh…" was the only response she could muster as Ellie continued.

"I didn't mind all the groping, figured it was something all guys were just into. But then he asked to take things a step 'further' which I turned down. He did nothing but low-key pressure me for days after that and after about two weeks I broke up with him and never looked back" she said simply, her fingers idly playing with her hair.

Ciel surprisingly enough was almost scowling from her reply, evidently her revelation had hit nerves she didn't think her subordinate had.

"So in other words he was only interested in your body. I'm sorry but that's just pig-headed" she said angrily. She'd never known Ciel for openly expressing dislike towards other people regardless of how warranted it may have been, so she couldn't help but smile sincerely, though she opted to not point it out.

"It was, and we never spoke again after that. I only hope he learned something from it" she said shaking her head indifferently, but also to calm her girlfriend's nerves. She'd long since forgotten about Young and her strong dislike of his treatment was long gone from her mind.

"I suppose you have a point, but I just hate how he'd treat you like that when your such a great person Ellie" she said her tone a bit calmer but still bearing a hind of dislike. Smirking Ellie planted a light kiss on Ciel's cheeks, effectively snuffing out the sour aura she had and replacing it with mild embarrassment.

"I did too but it's all in the past now. And I'd much rather focus on you instead" she said with a lascivious grin as her hand proceeded to tickled Ciel who let out girlish yelp and fell into an uncontrollable laughter.

"What are-GAH-" was all Ciel could muster as Elika moved both hands to playfully tickle around her stomach and causing Ciel to jerk around reflexively, struggling to withhold her laughter while shielding herself from the vice captains relentless onslaught of tickles and pokes. But she was nothing if not persistent, her hands shifting focus to Ciel's sides and she received a satisfying giggle in response.

They continued this tug of war for several minutes, trapping Ciel between her legs and forcing her to lie back on the couch while she worked braking her futile defence. For her part Ciel was a lot strong than her slender frame would lead the others to believe, curtesy of the enhanced muscle growth that the bias factor provided. But eventually she decided she had tormented Ciel enough for one night and retracted her arms from her silver haired partner who had resorted to using a pillow to shield her body, her face partially covered but leaving her eyes visible which reflected her relief.

Slowly lowering the pillow Ciel spoke.

"…What was that for?" she asked, giving her look of bewilderment.

"Nothing particular, unless being irresistibly adorable counts. In which case I'm letting you off easy" she said with a wink as she crawled over Ciel, making sure to not put any weight on her and peppering her face with butterfly kisses while her lover on the receiving end only got ten shades redder in the face, probably more than what seemed humanly possible.

"You could afford to hold back at least a little Ellie" Ciel muttered through her blushing, letting out a resigned sigh. She chuckled in response and kissed her again, her lips lingering a bit before tracing them along her cheek and neck.

"You only need to ask me to stop" she replied as she felt Ciel's arms wrap around her waist, slowly massaging the area. Though she could also sense a fair bit of hesitancy, enough to make her second guess her advances. She certainly didn't want to make Ciel feel pressured.

"… Well maybe I don't want you to" Ciel countered. She was taken aback for once, but also couldn't help but smile at her wittiness. Seemed she was finally taking control.

"In that case I think I can work something ou-"

BEEP.

The sound of a loud ringing from her phone caught them both unaware. Sighing in annoyance she reached for her pocked flipped it out.

"Oh hello Dr. Leah… I see… Alright I'll be sure to meet up with you for the testing…".

The call continued to drag on for three long minutes before the line went dead and by the then the mood was effectively killed. There seemed to be a weird pattern of cell phones constantly interrupting them whenever they were together, almost as though some higher force was messing with them.

"Sorry about that, Ciel." she said.

"Its fine, but what was it about?"

"Nothing special really, she just wants help testing some new restore pills she's been working on alongside the God Arc soldiers"

"I see, I suppose knows a good a time as any to retire for the night" Ciel said muffling a light yawn an looking up at the clock which was almost 1am.

"Leaving so soon? We could till spend another ten minutes" she suggested, a bit dissatisfied with the interruption but it was clear from her more professional demeanour that she wouldn't budge

"No, its alright. I stayed over an hour longer than I should have anyway" she said sitting up and reaching for her gloves, after all that action they were both ready to just lay down and fall asleep for the night. After placing back on her corset and shoes she straightened out her clothes

"Well alright then, there's plenty of time to finish this tomorrow" she said smiling though whether she was talking about the story or kisses wasn't clear.

"Of course, goodnight Ellie" Ciel said with a straight face, though it didn't stop the blush from forming. Though they're night was cut short both looked forward to the next night. Shortly after Ciel left she climbed into bed and went to sleep.

* * *

 **This chapter was a lot more focused on the fluff side of this, thought it would be nice to dedicate an entire chapter to it. That said the next chapter is already in the works and it'll hopefully be up before the week ends.**

 **Lastly, Sorry for the long wait between chapters, hit a serious case of writer's block while juggling other reallife responsibilities.**


	4. Chapter 4

Skilled as she was at wielding her God arc, injuries were an unavoidable occupational hazard. Be it a heavy blow from an Aragami or the occasional friendly fire that would often prove more annoying than painful. Today was one of such of occasions, and it was making damn sure Elika didn't forget. She sat on one of the beds in the infirmary A broken right elbow and dislocated wrist all tied in a sling for her to glower at, it certainly looked much worse than it felt which she was grateful for, but even then, the smallest movements set off pain around the injuries.

"It's not often you get sent down here Vice-captain Elika, I'm usually patching up Romeo and Nana every other week. So I take it this must have been a difficult fight then?" Yae the nurse asked as she pulled out a bandage and wet cloth with a bucket full of some medicated liquid she'd never seen before.

"It wasn't easy by any stretch but it also wasn't so difficult as much as an exercise in patience, Yae" Elika replied as she stared at the bucket wearily, she could already tell it would sting like hell.

"Oh, care to elaborate on that? With the way miss Alencon was following you as you came in I assumed you were poisoned and prepped the life support and anti-venoms for nothing" Yae asked with a small smile as she placed a pair of latex gloves on. she wasn't exaggerating, worried as the others were about her injuries none had been quite as concerned as Ciel, she even insisted on helping treat the injuries herself after escorting her here. But a reassuring look from Elika calmed her down.

"Well, we were facing off against a new type Aragami for materials, ever heard of Bismuth?"

"I'm no Geologist but it does ring a bell. Isn't it a kind of mineral?"

"Exactly, we needed it to upgrade our arcs from its core but its hide was a lot denser than we expected. About as big as a Vajra but pretty slow".

Walking over Yae motioned for her sit straight and relax.

"I see, but judging by the injury that didn't make it any less dangerous, did it?" she asked though it sounded more like a statement which she responded to with a sheepish nod.

"Well, it got away relatively unscathed so you're right about that... Things got chaotic fast, with several Ogre tails jumping out of nowhere and splitting our attention while fighting and before I knew it I got blindsided by one of its claws. I saw it coming a second too late and my arm took the blunt of its attack instead of my God Arc" she said cringing at the memory and in turn sending another rush of pain along her arm. She was just grateful the injury was on her left hand and away from her armlet, if the armlet was ever in any way damaged she would be as good as dead… That and it would be a nightmare trying tie that in a sling comfortably.

"Unpleasant. The work you all do always motivate me to keep serving here" she said smiling understandably as her hand reached for the knot holding her sling together. "I can't promise this is going to hurt any less, unfortunately". The smile on her face slowly faded as the time came to treat the injury.

Undoing the knot Yae gently took it off and pulled back her sleeve as far as it could go to avoid putting strain on the injury, it still hurt and she had to consciously resist pulling away as the nurse worked.

Grabbing the rag she wiped the small blood stains off the cuts and tightened her grip ever so slightly. "This may sting, a LOT" she said making sure Elika understood what she was about to do. Placing both hands on her wrist Yae made a quick flicking motion with her wrist and her her snapped back into place with unpleasant 'POP' sound which was quickly followed up by a rush of pain which spread along her arm.

Still not finished with her task Yae kept a firm grip on her wrist, much to Elika's dismaly who tightly gripped the sheets to keep her hand from shoving Yae away who had her focus almost entirely on the arms as she soaked the cloth again and pressed it against the gash again. She felt a surge of excruciating pain and had to hold in a scream, her teeth grinding hard and her hand pulling away but the older woman held her in place. Several seconds of non-stop pain later she was released and the discomfort was gone as quick as came… She only felt a numbness now from that arm, which was a hell of a lot better though she'd still rather not have gone through that to get here.

"Geez. That hurt like hell" Elika gasped as she reeled back, cradling the injured arm in a protective manner and sighing.

"I apologize, the medicine can be rather brutal on an open injury, but I couldn't run the risk of a possible infection from an unknown Aragami type" Yae replied with an apologetic bow.

"A little warning would be appreciated!" she replied with a frown.

"I did mention it would hurt. But you held yourself together rather well, we had restrained the last patient to the bed after he threw a punch at the doctor" she replied with a frown, possibly recalling the unpleasant memory.

She then pulled out a bandage and proceeded to wrap it around the injured arm, though not until she reassured a reluctant Elika it wouldn't hurt. After that was done she wrapped it up in a proper sling around her neck.

"So how long until it heals up?" she asked.

"The injuries were nothing serious but I'd give it a month at least". That wouldn't cut it for Elika, a month straight of loitering without missions? She'd die of boredom in a week.

"Can't we give it a week at most? I can't just leave Blood one-member short for so long" she asked hoping to avoid the break entirely, sure the injury hurt but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She knew it was reckless and knew she'd only make the injury heal slower, but even so she hated just sitting around doing nothing.

"Not unless you want to make that injury any worse. A month, I can't in good conscience recommend anything shorter"

"But I can't just sit down twiddling my thumbs my while my teammates risk their lives"

"I'm sure your unit can manage for that long without you. And if not then we can always look into giving you a temporary substitute. The old second or third unit leaders can always pitch in". It didn't look like she would be able to weasel out of that month.

"Ugh, can I at least use the training grounds?" she pleaded. Yae took a moment to contemplate the question before replying.

"… Well, I suppose we can come to an equitable agreement on that." she replied. At least she was getting some kind of mercy. With the way Dr. Sakaki prioritised staff health she knew Yae could easily Boycott any of her missions for that injury alone if she really wanted to. Though it was certainly nice having a Director that cared for his staff, which was a lot more than they could say about Director Grem.

"That's great-" she said when she was cut off

"But you can only train once per day, and you'll be limited to only exercises that avoid putting strain on your arm" she said as Elika looked down at her bandaged left arm. It wasn't that she enjoyed fighting Grimm, the truth was much the opposite as Elika never had any particular amount of pride in the skills she possessed. She only valued them to the extent that they could protect others.

There was no helping it, she only hoped it would be a short month.

"I suppose I don't really have a choice"

"It's not my intention to make you feel trapped but It's my job to make sure you receive only the best recommendation"

"I understand. Thanks, Yae" she said standing up and giving a polite smile.

"My pleasure feel free to drop by if it acts up again" Yae replied with a bow. Proceeding to the exit she headed over to the elevator where Nana, Ciel and Romeo were seated. Presumably waiting for her.

Romeo was loud as usual but after spending the last 20 minutes in an all-white and nauseatingly quiet infirmary his voice was like music to her ears. Nana freely engaged him not minding his probably unnecessarily high pitch and munching on her Oden Sandwich, which she wasn't entirely sure was allowed on this floor.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, it was practically a flesh wound. And besides, Ellies too tough to let something like that slow her down" Romeo said in his usual chipper manner as she stepped into view.

"Yeah, I bet she'll be back up in practically no time at all" Nana said not noticing her just yet as she glanced over at Ciel and Romeo with a confident smile. Ciel was the first to notice her presence and perked up.

"Vice-captain. Is your arm alright?" she asked, her concern visible but consciously kept from completely dropping formality outwardly with the other two.

" How do you feel?" Nana asked quickly followed by Romeo who said.

"Yeah, what did Yae say?" the blonde asked. She didn't want them worrying over a superficial arm injury, but she still appreciated the fact that her teammates cared about the little things.

"I'm perfectly fine, but Yae's taking me off missions for a whole month so you guys will have to manage without me" she said rubbing her head sheepishly.

"Well that sucks. But if that's what the nurse thinks is proper. You shouldn't doubt it" Nana said with a confident albeit slightly dismayed smile.

"Yea, were an elite team after all. Sure we'll be slightly less awesome without our badass Vice captain but were all strong individually" Romeo said in his usual overzealous manner which was enough to rise a chuckle out her.

"I'm not that good, otherwise I wouldn't be here" she said waving her bandaged arm for them to see. "Anyway, I'm at least happy I can still use the training ground. Though with some pretty limited training exercises"

"That's true, but I think I'll have to agree with Nurse Yae on this. Try to focus on recovering" Ciel said with a small smile but one that also held a certain sternness that she could only interpret as 'Don't do anything reckless please'

"No one wants to come up with some elaborate plan to free me from house arrest, isn't that humbling" she said in mock sadness, her shoulders slumping dramatically. Unsurprisingly she only got a few snickers, it was a bit disheartening that they didn't think she was serious. She wasn't of course… but still.

The others motioned to the elevator from which they headed back into the main Den and to the lounge where they all had a brief lunch after which Romeo excused himself while Nana proceeded to engage Matsumi about her latest recipe.

"Does it hurt?" Ciel asked looking over at the injury and frowning slightly.

"A little, but that's to be expected" she said as she took a bite of her Sushi with her good hand. Sighing Ciel took a bite from her meal which was just some simple Ramen noodles.

"I wouldn't mind having a look at it later tonight… If you're interested" Ciel offered, prompting Elika to glance at her and smile.

"I appreciate the thought but I'm sure Yae patched me up pretty good" she replied politely but added an extra "But I'll be happy to have a look at you later" she teased but surprisingly she only got a small smile in place of her usual embarrassment.

"That's… Not an undesirable offer" she replied. It seemed her teasing was beginning to lose its effects on Ciel. A good step forward for her usually reserved girlfriend.

After finishing up their meals, they both ended up parting ways to deal with other duties. Ciel still had to oversee the God Arc upgrades with Licca while Elika had some paperwork to deal with. God Eater or not there was never a shortage of work that needed to be done either on Friar or the far east branch, but when she had to juggle both the monthly report letters back to Dr. Rachel keeping her posted on Bloods performance and the weekly strategy meeting with all the unit leaders in the Far East and she was always busy. And while free time was something she could use she hardly took issue with it, likely because she was already accustomed to long hours prior to even becoming a God Eater.

Grabbing herself a quick coffee from the machine she headed back to the personnel floor and into the blood section, making a beeline for Julius's room and knocked three times before waiting for a response. After a few seconds, the automated door slid open to reveal her captain whose attention seemed to split between answering the door and reading the paper in his hand.

"Oh, it's you vice-Captain. I thought you'd be taking the day off with your injuries, please come in" the blonde said motioning for her to enter which she obliged to, taking a light sip of her coffee and glancing up at him.

"It's nothing so serious that I can't keep working. Besides, the sooner we deal with those reports for Dr Rachel the better" she said placing her mug on his work bench and stretching. Unlike the rest of them, Julius's quarters were a relatively spacious bedroom that also functioned as an office and recreational facility that had a large desk that was almost always filled with forms and letters that he needed to be addressed, signed and submitted before the week ended. The wall adjacent to the table had a dart board and a pool table. His bed was easily the most modest thing about the room, being normal sized and relatively tamed in its design. But even it still couldn't escape the rooms trend of luxury and was fitted with an extra soft, springy mattress and pillow.

The bathroom was also equally ostentatious having the option of both a shower and large bathtub for those free days you could afford to take the day slowly. Overall the room had everything one would need to live comfortably… and then some.

Everyone in blood was pretty much in agreement that the designers went a little overboard with rooms design, Julius included but with all the added responsibility that being captain saddled him, you could easily argue he deserved a five-star bedroom.

"I don't have any issue with doing it alone, your health takes higher priority" he replied settling down on the couch opposite her and placing the paperwork down on his lap.

"I do appreciate the concern but I assure you I'm fine Julius. My arms just a little numb, not exactly a worst-case scenario" she said reassuringly as she reached out to take the document in his lap and flipped it around for her to read. "So, what exactly are we up to this time?"

Julius looked like he had a reply to that but seemingly decided to drop the matter.

"Well, I just received some letters from Dr. Leah on those upgrades Ciel proposed" he said as he crossed his leg and rested a cheek on his knuckle. As she scanned through she could see that Julius had attempted to save time and resources on taking out that elusive Bismuth Aragami and tried to outsource it from Friar. But shockingly enough even with Dr. Leah's security clearance, the request was denied by some Fenrir big wig that oversaw recourse management. Apparently, the needs of some rich guy that wanted them to design the chandelier of his mansion were bigger than offering aid to Humanities only real protection against the Horde of Aragami that reduced the Global population on a daily basis. It was outright ridiculous, but certainly not the first time this she'd heard of it happened.

"Sometimes I can't help but wonder if the higherups forget that we're fighting a war out here. Decorations? Really?!" Elika exclaimed, her tone one of bewilderment as she read through it a second time.

"I understand your feelings, but HQ's made their decision. So, we'll just have to redouble our efforts to find that Aragami. Preferably with no casualities" he said placing a calming hand on her shoulder and glancing at the sling she had, curtesy of that very beast. Glancing up from the paper she could see he was just as relaxed and straight-faced as he always was.

"Sometimes I just don't get how you can take this stuff in stride, Julius" Elika exclaimed, taking another sip from her coffee. In response, the young man let out a small laugh and took the letter back to his desk. He returned to his seat holding a file containing a number of pamphlets.

"I don't see much point in complaining about things beyond my power. Don't you think that energy would be better spent finding a way around a difficult problem?" he asked passing her a pile paperwork while he grabbed a pen and proceeded to work on his share.

"Well… I suppose you have a point. But they're making our job a hell of a lot harder than it needs to be" she said accepting the pen he passed her and getting to work on reading through it.

"Perhaps but I like to believe that these restrictions will encourage us to be more creative and maximise the provisions we do have". There he went again with his unshaking optimism, it was an admirable trait Elika wished she could have more of. The way he could put her mind at ease with simple words, it was one of the major factors that made him a great leader.

"I can't argue with that logic. We'll just have to get better at tracking that Aragami" she said as she signed each paper and placed into a second pile, taking a swig from her coffee and downing the remainder of its contents for a quick buzz that would keep her energized for a while.

The next three hours passed with relatively little talk between them, both of them being far too absorbed in their work to focus on much else. Though her arm cast hindered her efficiency slightly she had the advantage of being ambidextrous and was still able to move at a reasonable pace. The sound of the old wooden clock ticking was almost deafening with the lack of any other sounds.

Once Elika was done with her pile she sighed and stretched slightly as she leaned back on her seat.

"That's the last one on my end. Need anything else done?" she asked as she glanced over at Julius who was on his last form.

"That's all for today, thanks. You really eased the burden for me" Julius said with a look of gratitude as he signed off the last paper and gathered them all into a file before walking over to his desk placing them in a drawer.

"No need, I know how hard it is keeping ahead of schedule when there's always more paper work to be done" she said shaking her head and placing a tired arm on her hip. He smiled slightly at her words as he leaned back on the table, arms folded.

"I'm most fortunate, having you as my vice-captain" he said closing his eyes thoughtfully, his smile still lingering. She couldn't help but be caught off guard by the praise he sent her way. Yes, Julius was always polite… but his words also tended to be more measured. He was a bit too professional to handout flattering comments, not unless he meant it anyway.

"That means a lot coming from you Julius. Thanks" she replied evenly, getting ready to excuse herself for the night but was stopped when he continued.

"It's my pleasure. Are you enjoying the little Birthday gift I got you?" he asked, immediately bringing back memories of the party they had some weeks prior. She could recall unwrapping his gift, which went from pleasant surprise to joy when she saw the gift. It was an old 1979 VCR, or Video Cassette recorder if you wanted the full name. An outdated piece of tech that hadn't seen use in over a hundred years at a time when Aragami didn't even exist.

Yes, it was a strange gift to get someone for their birthday, but anyone that knew Elika for over a week would know that she had a strange interest in old things, especially music and movies. So for someone like her, it was a perfect gift.

"I am, it works like its brand new. I'm shocked those things are even still obtainable these days. How did you get it?" she asked curiously.

"It was for sale at a small antique shop. It was surprisingly cheap for a collector's item but the store clerk didn't seem to care particularly for it. I was certain it was faulty on some level but it seemed luck was on my side" he said placing a thoughtful hand on his chin.

"No kidding. That sounds convenient but I'm grateful for it nonetheless" she said.

"I'm glad…" he said trailing off and. He seemed to go silent after that so Elika assumed there was nothing left to be said and walked over to the door, but just before she could tap the exit button he spoke again. "Elika" he said prompting her to turn around and face him.

"Hmm, yes Julius?" she said looking at him expectantly.

"Would you be interested in joining me for a little excursion tomorrow?" he asked with a straight face.

"Excursion? Do you need help with a task?" she asked a bit puzzled by the request.

"Not necessarily. Every now and then I take a simple mission to solo, I find it's a good way of relieving stress and just clearing my head" he explained, walking over to her.

"Ah, that sounds like it could be fun and I'd love to go but…" she said motioning to her injured arm apologetically. "I'm not allowed to take any regular missions for the next month, at least until my arm heals back to normal" she said rubbing her head sheepishly. In response, the older male nodded understandingly.

"So I've heard and I've taken the liberty of mapping out the area for Aragami activity. There are just a few Ogretails prowling the region, and I suspect you'd rather not spend an entire day trapped in your room" he said stuffing his hands in the folds of his pockets.

"True, almost anything would be better than that but are you sure? I wouldn't want to be burden if we encounter more than a few"

"Not at all, it would be refreshing to have your company opposed to doing it alone." He said dismissing her doubts. He was rather adamant on having her accompany him, something she couldn't say she minded. After all, this would be a rare opportunity to actually bond with her leader outside handling paperwork anyway which didn't really have much talking.

"Well, if you're alright with it then I'll be happy to accompany you, Julius" she said which got the briefest smile out of the usually passive captain.

"Good, I'll mail you the time and details later. For now, I think you should enjoy the rest of your day" he said opening the door open for her from the button on the wall next to it. She nodded in response and walked out contemplating what had just happened. Yes, she was happy that Julius seemed to be opening up more to her, though it did feel a little sudden. She decided to take the stairs down to her floor for once, and was so deep in thought she was caught off guard when Ciel stepped through the elevator just as she made it to her floor.

"Oh hey El, I imagine you're done with the paperwork with Julius?" she inquired as she stepped out, her arms holding a large leather sack of what appeared to be nuts.

"Huh? Oh, yes. We're done with that now" she said snapping back to reality and glancing at Ciel who seemed a bit surprised at her slightly distracted aura but shrugging it off as exhaustion.

"I guess you must be tired after all that paper work" she said her eyes falling on Elika's arm cast a bit worriedly.

"A bit but I'm used to it. What are the nuts for?" the red head asked as she followed Ciel to her room entrance and stood by the hallways as she entered as she placed the bag next to her bed and turned to face Elika.

"Well, Cappies burnt through most of his treats a lot faster than Nana and I expected. So I made a quick trip through the city to buy more" she explained as she stepped back out and naturally took Elika's good arm in hers, resting her head on her shoulder. "I hope this isn't putting any strain on your arm." she said as glanced up with a concerned look but was reassured by her girlfriend in the form a light peck on her forehead.

"It's fine, Ciel. It doesn't hurt at all" she said pulling her head back, remembering they were still in the main hall where the rest of Blood could easily walk in on them. Though she was fairly certain Gilbert and Romeo would be lurking by the lounge with Haroumi and Lindow while Nana would most likely be either sleeping or just laying down on her couch, not really being one for a late night socializing.

"We should probably move this to my room" she said taking Ciel's hand and pulling her along to her quarters. Evidently, by the flushing of her cheeks the silvette had also forgotten that they weren't exactly in private yet. Once the door was securely closed behind them Elika grabbed a soda can from her little mini fridge and passed it to Ciel who accepted it with a 'thanks' and popped it open while Elika briefly freshened up in the bathroom. Her sling was a bit tedious but eventually managed to change into some more comfortable nightwear.

Stepping out she found Ciel reading through a small book on the couch and took her seat next to her, her good arm naturally finding its spot along her waist as Ciel nuzzled against her more and let her head rest on her shoulder without uttering a word. She considered telling Ciel about Julius's request but was a bit unsure of how she would respond to it, after all it was just a simple get together of sorts. Nothing that would be a cause for concern.

She brushed the thoughts aside in favour of just laying down and enjoying the time they had, she could always tell Ciel about it before the night ended.

"Care to share the plot of your book Ciel?" she asked Ciel who looked up at her who smiled and replied. Explaining the general summary of the novel.


	5. Chapter 5

She had some experience taking care of kittens and dogs from her time at the Magnolia Compass orphanage, none of which proved particularly useful when it came to the taking care of the branches resident Capybara. Or as she liked to call her, Cappy.

The furry rodent was constantly getting bigger every day and had no shortage of energy most hours of the day, jumping right out of her crib-like cubicle and running around the lounge on four occasions in which they'd ended up burning out their lungs trying to carry her back in, which Cappy would typically struggle to escape from by kicking and flailing about.

In the worst cases, someone would get bitten which tended to cause some light gashes, with the usual victim being Ciel herself but she was usually well behaved and tended to not make a fuss about it. Ciel initially chalked it all up to her general inexperience on how to take care of the exotic mammal until she did some independent research on their behavioral patterns which much to her shock she found Cappy was an odd one compared to other Capybaras.

All the sources she read up on all described Capybaras as typically docile and gentle creatures. But those were the last words she could really use to describe Cappy, at times she'd even gotten a little worried her feeding choice for his main diet was causing Cappy to behave so strangely. But with some reassuring from Licca and Nana, she came to terms that Cappy was just special, even compared to others of her kind.

With a smile, Ciel squatted over the brown mammal's cage and watched as she happily chirped and pressed her mussel against the bars with big black eyes staring up at her happily.

"Hey girl, I see you missed me," she said as she patted and stroked Cappy's mussel as a gesture of affection which was responded to with excited licks as a hoof was pressed against the bar. "I missed you too. And I brought you something to eat" she said as she raised the sack of crackers hidden behind her and giggled as Cappy squealed in excitement and ran circles around her little cage which only seemed to get smaller every day as she grew bigger and bigger.

Like an overexcited dog, she stood on her two hind legs and jumped, jaws wide and aiming for the bag. But past experience had taught Ciel better and she pulled her arm back instinctively before a huge mess was made on the lounge floor, again. With a smile, she ripped the sack open and poured about half of the crackers inside Cappy's little bowl, enough to keep her distracted for a while at least.

She then changed out and refilled the water bowl before taking a seat and watching her pet feast with a smile. Sure, she could be a handful, but she adored Cappy and at times couldn't help but feel a little motherly with her.

"Having fun, Ciel?" she heard Gil's familiar voice say as she glanced over her shoulder.

"Oh, hello Gil. And yes, I suppose I am" she said as she stood up and straightened her dress out before turning to face him. Glancing up she could tell by the minor scratches and sweat on his brow that he likely just returned from a mission, or perhaps he had gotten into another altercation with Romeo. With the way, the two of them bickered it wasn't too out of the question… But that was a silly line of thought, sure he and Romeo argued but she believed they were both mature enough to not resort to violence.

"I swear, this fella gets bigger every time I time I step in here," Gil said as glanced at Cappy who had her face pressed into her food as she ate. Cappy's size wasn't something she really wanted to think too hard about but it was true, Cappy was growing at a rapid pace.

"Indeed. I'm honestly a bit worried she'll end up outgrowing her cage someday" Ciel replied as she folded her arms below her chest and watched Cappy chow down on her meal.

In response Gilbert simply shrugged and glanced back at her, adjusting his hat "Eh, I wouldn't sweat it too much. It's just normal for her to get bigger" he said his words and demeanor conveying just how detached and indifferent he was to the prospect.

"I suppose you have a point. But I can't help but be a bit bothered" Ciel admitted as Gilbert took a seat by the counter and ordered a drink from Matsumi, his hand motioning for Ciel to take the seat next to him, which she obliged to. Waving Matsumi off with a polite smile as she offered her some orange juice, since Ciel wasn't really one for Alcohol.

"Worrying's fine, just don't stress too much over it. If Cappy gets too big, then you can just ask Dr. Sakaki for a bigger enclosure." The Scotsman said with a reassuring nod. Gilbert was never really the go to person when it came to advice, more often than not the person she and probably everyone else in blood looked to for advice was Elika, so the thought of him trying was something she could appreciate.

"Your right about that. Thanks for the pep talk" she said with a happy smile as she sat by the counter, deciding to take a drink after all. She still had to review some of her plans in regard to the Bismuth Aragami but for the moment she was going to try to not bail on the older male as she tended to do.

It wasn't that she didn't like Gilbert, no he was dear comrade and friend… But ever since she arrived on Friar the two always had trouble holding any sort of conversation. He wasn't straightforward like Julius whom she could easily converse with due to his formal mannerisms being so similar to past instructors she had, he definitely wasn't loud like Romeo who had a friendly aura that made everyone feel welcome though that in itself could be a double-edged sword at times. He wasn't like Nana whom she befriended through their mutual love for Cappy and he certainly wasn't like Elika who always seemed to know the right words and tended to go out of her way to take care of all her teammates if she felt she needed to

Ironically enough, it was precisely because their personalities were so similar that they had so much trouble becoming good friends. Much like Ciel, Gilbert was not at all a talkative individual but while in Ciel's case it was mostly out of shyness Gilbert was more of an introvert and just didn't have much to say. So they both tended to just sit in silence until things got too awkward and one of them would end up leaving to focus on some other task.

Something she admittedly found frustrating during their first few missions, in which Gilbert would either jump into her line of fire or just do his own thing. Disregarding the agreed plans. After that the two just sort of fell into a pattern of not really talking to each other directly. Heck, the longest conversation they'd ever had was less than one minute.

Today, she intended to try and change that.

"Would like to accompany me to the training field Gil?" she asked with a single arm resting on the counter as she glanced at him Gilbert who was understandably caught off guard by the sudden initiative.

He finished off the remainder of his glass and placed a contemplative hand to his chin as "Training huh, I don't know I've still got some tuning up to do with my God Arc I need to get back to".

"Oh… I see" she said feeling a bit dejected, but she supposed it was only natural considering she did ask out of the blue. And of course, she couldn't really blame for being hesitant considering your relationship was built on mutual ignorance.

"… Ah, screw it. Sure I've got the time to spare" he quickly replied feeling the disappointed glint in her eye weigh him down like a heavy rock. And in response, she immediately perked up.

"Really? You'll do it?"

"Yeah sure. I can tune up my God Arc any time. Besides for whatever reason, you seem to really want to do this with me" he replied as scratched his head sheepishly. She blushed slightly in response and shook her head.

"I just think we'd both benefit a lot from training together. Our coordination could always be better" she explained. The Scotsman only frowned in response, not really sharing that sentiment

"I think we're plenty coordinated with Julius and Elika calling the shots but fair enough. I could go a few rounds of target practice" he said as they both made their way to the exit.

* * *

Its been awhile since I last uploaded anything, initially I planned on writing something a bit longer but decided to settle on giving you guys a little taste of what is to come. So no, the story isn't abandoned xD. Its just gotten slightly sidelined by other content.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys, for whatever reason the line break feature wasn't registering at on fanfics Doc manager :/. So I've had to upload and re-upload it a few times, so I apologize if anyone had the chapter disappear on them. Couldn't fix it in the end so I put in a little edit.**

 **Also to the anonymous user and Lienwright who commented on my last chapter, it's very encouraging to see my stories being enjoyed even with my inconsistent update rate so Thank you. With that said I've wasted enough of your time, please enjoy the chapter**

 **Chapter 6**

"Well, that was less strenuous than I was expecting" Julius muttered as he withdrew his long blade from the skull of a fallen Ogretail, traces of a black sticky liquid that served as its blood on the edges. The two had taken a small jeep through the back gates of the outer ghetto and drove several kilometres along the route to the sunken grid before going off road and parking the truck at a relatively safe location. From there Julius lead them up a hill in an area where vegetation and urban structures had merged into one where they encountered a few Aragami of which Julius made short work of.

"You sure this route isn't going to have anything too dangerous?" Elika asked from her sitting position on a small boulder she perched herself on when the Aragami showed up. Without a God arc, she didn't really have anyway of defending herself from the Aragami, and her broken arm wasn't helping matters. Injury or it would have been better to have her arc with her if only to stave off the earie feeling of nakedness that came with not having an arc in her arms when she was out on the field, but she had faith Julius was entirely capable of protecting both of them.

"Nothing Too dangerous, rest assured. You can be at ease" Julius said as he flicked the 'blood' from his blade and walked back over to Elika who pouted slightly.

"Ha, easy for you to say," she said hopping down and walking over to Julius, so far this trip had proven to be little more than a roundabout way of getting the cardio in, not that she minded.

At her words, Julius cracked a soft smile and motioned with his sword to what appeared to be an old four-story building that had some parts of its base and roof blown off but was still holding itself together rather well, not that she was keen on testing out its stability. But by the look of things that was where Julius was heading.

"And pray tell why are you taking us to an abandoned building, Captain?"

"You'll find out soon enough" he replied as they walked up the beaten path, making cautious but quick steps up the slippery hill, it was at times like this that those Yoga classes she took back in high school came in handy as she could easily adjust her posture to keep up with Julius. She was curious as to just what Julius was planning as the more she looked at that building the more it resembled the setting of a haunted house. She held her silence though and trudged on until they were right at the building's entrance

She glanced over at Julius uncertainly before opening the door with a loud creak. Julius stepped in first and looked around before motioning for her to follow him down the hall. Now she was getting very curious. "Julius, what is this place?" she asked her captain as they strolled along the corridor.

Without slowing down Julius replied in his usual composed voice "A place of great nostalgia to me" he said as they walked past by a broken wall leading to a room that vaguely resembled a children's play circle with dusty toys and puzzles littering the floor, Elika narrowed her eyes at it before glancing at Julius's back curiously. She didn't want to jump to conclusions but based on his reply she had a feeling it was a place he'd visited or perhaps lived in as a child. Eventually, she decided to leave her questions until after they made it to the wherever it was he was taking her

A few minutes silenced passed as they made their way up the flight of stairs from floor to floor, the sound of their boot heels being the only sounds that echoed between them until eventually, he kicked open the top door leading to the roof.

"Take a look" was all Julius said as stepped out into the afternoon sun and passed her the afternoon sun and gave her small smile. Brow raised she stepped out on the roof with him and took a look around only to feel her breath hitch at the view before her.

To one end she could see the sun shining over the outer part of the far east Branch that stood taller than the massive walls that surrounded the city. And to the other end, one could see the beginnings of the snowy mountains that lead up to the area the locals had appropriately dubbed the 'valley of blue ice' with a backdrop of near pitch blackness due to the clouds shrouding over that region.

It was a beautiful juxtaposition, like they were caught in a limbo between night and day. Sure, she knew that weather around that region was weird, but she'd never taken a look at both the far east and the mount side.

"Oh, the view up here is so beautiful" Elika said, her eyes blinking in wonder as they darted from one end of the horizon to another. So, this was the surprise he had planned for her, it was certainly worth all the cryptic remarks. She glanced at him over at Julius over her shoulder. "Julius? What exactly is this place?" she asked.

"An old building my parents owned before they were killed, it was meant to be a getaway of sorts from the usual politics that their job as ambassadors warranted" he replied with a thoughtful smile. "The geographical positioning wasn't a coincidence either, it was made so we could get a good of the mountains and far east… Of course, back then this region was a lot safer"

Elika wasn't sure whether to show sympathy or not, the way he spoke of it in passing it didn't sound like his childhood was a part of his life he especially minded. But she didn't want to possibly push a nerve. After some momentary pondering, she decided that Julius wouldn't be telling or showing her this if he wasn't alright with it.

"Your parents owned this building, so you grew up here?" she inquired to which he shook his head. Well she supposed his name alone wasn't Japanese at all though his features were unpronounced enough that Julius could vaguely pass as an Asian,

"No, they were diplomats and real estate managers, so we traveled a lot, from what I gather I was born in Italy but neither of my parents were Italian though. I do know my father was Canadian but I'm not sure exactly what part of Asia mother hailed from" Julius stated with a pensive look, perhaps the memories were partially forgotten.

She remained silent for a moment longer, admittedly a bit mesmerised by the odd rainbow lights that would occasionally shine through the snowy mountains. But eventually she glanced back at Julius who had seated himself on some fallen debree, his legs and arms folded with his god arc leaning against the structure at his side.

"Julius, why did you share this with me, if you don't mind me asking?" Elika inquired as she looked up at him from his perch, a bit of puzzlement in her ocean blue eyes. Wordlessly Julius dropped down next to her and offered an unreadable side glance at her before gazing at the Far East on the horizon.

"Is the view not to your liking Elika?" he asked, grabbing his god arc and standing over the edge. Elika shook her head and placed her good arm on her hip.

"It's not that, the views beautiful but you've never been the sentimental type. At least not openly"

He chuckled lightly and smiled at her while rubbing his chin "Seems you know me well. Better than I thought… Since we moved to this area of operation I've visited this place several times to reminisce, but after a while I suppose the novelty wore off and its grown to be more a source of loneliness than anything else" his voice took on a darker tone as he looked down the Aragami running around the region. "… As a leader, I'm the last person who should ever get emotional on 'what could have been'. I don't want to start thinking bad of this place… Call it selfish but I wanted to bring something else to serve as a source of happiness to balance it out"

His words had a layer of sincerity she wasn't sure she had heard from the man in the last five months she'd been part of blood. "Oh…" she said still caught off guard at the level of trust Julius was showing her. "You, think of me as a source of happiness?" she asked.

"Indeed, I do, as all of us in blood do. There's a light in your heart that inspires confidence in others, a skill I won't deny I aspire to have as a leader"

The heat rose slightly in her cheeks from the praise, so even Julius thought she had that effect on others. At this point, she'd heard the saying a dozen times but hearing from the captain had its own novelty. Other than that she had a new found appreciation for Julius for being so open with her where he hadn't been with others. "Thank you, Julius" she looked up at him and smiled warmly, their eyes making contact. "For sharing this side of yourself with"

"You've proven yourself more than worth having that level of openness with, Ellie," he said as he peered down at the Aragami around the area. "… The surrounding regions more dangerous than I expected. Care to stay sit with me for a few hours?"

"Well if your intentions to make me blush you've more than succeeded, but I'd be happy to Julius," she said with a sheepish giggle which Julius responded to with a slight smile.

"I'm not nearly idle minded enough to try and do something like that" he responded, followed by a momentary silence before they both broke into some light laughter before they both took a seat and began to chat, exactly the sort of idle conversation one would hardly imagine Julius indulging in. Right at that moment, they weren't colleagues, teammates or fellow God Eaters. But two close friends having fun in each other's company.

 **Perspective shift**

They'd been at this for almost two hours now, Ciel would arrange the moving in different formations and Gilbert would strike them down skilfully with his God Arc gun mode and a scope attachment to improve accuracy. Once he'd emptied his oracle reserves they'd have look at the bullets overall level of utility in the spectator's room near the firing range, as well as conversing over the best way to improve on the weapons performance.

She had to admit, she was not expecting this to be half as interesting as it was, granted he didn't understand how to edit bullets as well as Ellie did and seemed to be more interested in the inner workings of the God Arcs rather opposed to the admittedly intricate science of condensing oracle energy into a state that could fit inside a bullet casing, even she couldn't say she really understood back to back. But cracking their heads trying to get the process was always part of the fun.

"Huh, I've got some ideas on some modifications to reduce the recoil on my God Arc" Gilbert said with a smirk as glanced at the blueprints for the basic assemblage and disassemble of a God Arc.

"Oh, what did you find, Gilbert?" Ciel asked as she looked up from her notepad titled 'Bullet editing application manual'. Well at least they were both having some fun, albeit they were at a bit of an impasse on what aspect of their weaponry they wanted to approach, but still bonding.

"Well I always brought up modification plans to Licca, but she'd always say something like 'upgrading a God arc isn't as simple as just thinking of a new idea for better performance. The easiest way to improve recoil is to reduce the arcs performance in other areas like increasing the time for a blade transformation or swap out with a blade entirely form another that consumes fewer oracle cells" he explained as he turned the notepad over for Ciel to see the design.

He sat back with a thoughtful look as Ciel glanced at him from her chair. "… So instead, of trading off one advantage for another I've tried brainstorming ways of raising my arcs performance in all faculties. That means finding rarer, more resilient Aragami cores"

Well, his logic was sound, but acquiring those cores would be tall order. Not just from the danger posed by the Aragami which also tended to be the most dangerous kinds but also the hassle they'd have to go through to convince the Director that the pay off would be worth the resources expended. Of course, on any regular mission, they could hunt whatever Aragami they needed to kill. But in cases where there was little to no information on the target's capabilities, and with limited rewards then God Eaters couldn't simply do as they pleased.

"That would be the most efficient way to improve your arcs performance. But making a case for it may be difficult. Which Aragami are you considering?" Ciel asked.

"Yeah, I know how much of stickler for safety the Director can be. But I'm thinking of going after a Hannibal" he stated and prompting Ciel to give him a look. Hannibal's weren't the most dangerous rare types they'd faced but their shockingly high stamina, mobility, and brute strength did put them in a class of their own. It was the sort of Aragami that required extensive preparation, and even then in order to kill one God Eaters needed to be committed to long haul for if there was one thing every Hannibal excelled at, it was battles of attrition.

"What? That's too dangerous for just an upgrade" Ciel responded giving him a worried look.

"Then I can go alone, I've done it with Vajras lots of times" he responded.

"Gilbert. I know your strong but not even veterans like Lindow go picking fights with that Aragami. I can't in good conscience support that course of action" she replied more sternly.

"I know that, but my second option was an Ouroboros. And I know I can't take that on-" he said when they were cut off by the sound of the room doors sliding open for a slightly exhausted looking Julius and Elika to step in. Julius's God Arc in hand with traces of blood along its bladed edge. Other than that, they were also noticeably drenched in water, from the rain most likely

Ciel had almost forgotten they'd been out for the better half of the day, time tended to fly like that. "Oh. Welcome back" she said as she glanced at the duo. Julius responded with a nod as he made his way past them, to the God Arc storage room while Elika remained at the doorway, the left arm cast still visible and the redhead no worse for wear, much to Ciel's own relief since she wasn't at all onboard with Elika being defenceless

"Yup and glad to be, you wouldn't believe how spontaneous the weather can be sometimes…" the redhead said with a smile as she noted the unusual pairing of Ciel and Gilbert, resulting in her smile only widening. "And what are you guys up to?"

"Just thinking up new ways of improving field performance" Gilbert answered first with a shrug as his glanced at Elika's cast. It was only a half-truth, and though Ciel could feel the temptation to tell Elika his exact plan she chose to hold her silence. "Feeling better with that sling?"

"Still stings but it's not as sensitive anymore, thankfully" Elika replied as she placed her hand on the sling. "Oh, I'd love to hear about that, we shouldn't ever get too complacent on what works with all the new type Aragami emerging every day"

She gave Gilbert a momentary glance before looking back at Elika. As the vice-captain Elika did have the authority to stop Gilbert from taking a mission on that level but at the same time she didn't want to put herself at odds with Gilbert when she was actively trying to build a stronger friendship with him, and considering all the threats they'd already faced there was no question that his skills were considerable enough that he could hold possibly his own long enough to kill a Hannibal, but in this line of work 'possibly' would only get one killed.

"Likewise," Julius said, just walking in on the conversation and wiping the water off his body with a towel while giving Elika a spare. "We always keeping growing as a unit, if we are to stand any chance against new threats looming just over the horizon…" he trailed off as he glanced at Elika's sling briefly before picking up again "That being said it is necessary to pace ourselves. I'll be in my office if anyone needs me and Elika I strongly encourage you take the rest of the day off"

And with those words Julius walked past Elika out the door. "Gladly" Elika responded as she rubbed her neck before smiling at the two once again. "Its good to see you both taking this sort of initiative. Can't join you this time but have fun" she said with a wink before turning on her heel, but just before she could walk away Ciel spoke up.

"Where did you two go, by the way?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. After all, Elika was supposed to be off duty so why Julius would have her accompany him out there was odd. Elika looked over her shoulder thoughtfully before replying.

"Sorry, its a secret between Julius and I," she said with an apologetic smile. It was a bit off-putting, having her girlfriend who had never once bothered keeping any secret from her refuse, but she couldn't let the slight sting show and kept her face straight

"Oh, I understand" she replied with a nod while Gilbert raised a curious brow as Elika turned back and kept going.

' _Stop being a possessive idiot'_ she thought to herself as she brought her gaze back to her notepad. Julius and Elika were good friends and they had every right to have secrets that she wasn't and wouldn't ever be privy too… This line of thought wouldn't lead anywhere healthy, she needed to get a grip.

Exhaling she turned back to Gilbert "So, you wanted to take that missi-" she said when he cut her off.

"You'd think those two would just come out with it" he said, seemingly not even noticing her comment. Ciel's paused briefly before tilting her head.

"Pardon?" she said to which Gilbert looked at her dead on.

"You know? Elika and Julius". She already knew where he was going with this but asked anyway.

"What about them?"

"Maybe its just my imagination but almost everyone thinks those two are seeing each other, privately behind everyone's back" he stated as he rubbed his chin.

She was usually the last person to ever resort that line of thought but at that one moment Ciel felt the temptation to fling her notepad in his face and storm out, she wanted to so badly… But… She was better than that.

Redirecting her sudden annoyance to something productive she looked back at her notepad.

"They're simply rumours Gilbert, no use in assuming. Lets' just focus on the task at hand" she said to which he chuckled lightly.

"It's all work and no play with you Ciel. Alrighty, back to it then" Gilbert said, letting the matter

Even though she just managed to come off as indifferent to his words they had effectively filled her head thoughts of what her two superiors were up to. Of course, Elika wouldn't ever do that to her but thanks to Gilbert she knew that was all that would be in her mind for a while now.

With an exasperated sigh Ciel carried on where they left off.


End file.
